9/11 anniversary a chance for reflection, renewal

And today, as we recall the terror attacks that rocked the world 10 years ago, we stand at a fork in American history. We need to free our wheels from the wet clay of the present and plot the route to a prosperous, less divisive future.

And we can do it. We have met bigger challenges than the ones that face us today.

We can look back at 9/11 and bemoan a lost decade spent chasing the people who did this. Two wars. Thousands more casualties to go with the innocent lives lost in the twin towers, at the Pentagon and on a scarred field in Shanksville, Pa.

We can lament billions of dollars spent on surges and a huge intelligence complex, and nation-building in faraway places where people don’t like us — while at home, our roads, bridges, schools and national psyche have crumbled.

We can recall the horrific images of that day, honor the lives lost and wonder if we’re safer. America can be proud there has not been another major terror attack on our soil, but sobered by the realization that, although Osama bin Laden has been assassinated, many others have tried — and will continue to try — to harm us.

State of Reflection: New Jersey Ten Years After 9/11The Star-Ledger documentary, "State of Reflection: New Jersey 10 Years After 9/11", examines how the tragedy has changed the physical and emotional landscape of New York's sister state, New Jersey, and explores the many ways New Jerseyans are honoring the lost. This project was inspired by video interviews Star-Ledger's Jennifer Brown did with families and friends who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. A special thank you goes to the families of Dorothy Chiarchiaro, Edward P. Felt, Susan Huie, Todd Ouida, and Dominique Pandolfo. (Video by Adya Beasley / The Star-Ledger, Edited by Bumper DeJesus and Seth Siditsky)

We can cry that the world has changed forever — for us and our children and their children — despondent that we’ll never really feel safe again. Chatter about lone wolves and evil now living among us adds to our dread, and we can’t make it go away.

The fact is, every day, rain or shine, deficit or surplus, Democrat or Republican in the White House, America is one big plot from disaster. That is our reality.

Some circle Sept. 11, 2001, on the calendar and mark it as the beginning of the end for America. We were living large back then. The economy was thriving. People had jobs. The nation’s coffers were bulging with a surplus. America was respected around the globe. We had it all. We were fat and content.

And then the attacks sucker-punched us, and we can’t seem to get back on our feet.

Hindsight says we missed the opportunities that 9/11 presented us — the resolve, focus and unity could have propelled America to a new level of greatness. Instead, we marched into two wars we couldn’t pay for, gave out irresponsible tax breaks and bullied the world. Our economy collapsed. Our politics divided us. We lost our mojo. In short, we blew it.

But we have a second chance.

We can circle today’s date on the calendar, Sept. 11, 2011, and mark it as the beginning of the new beginning for America.

Since the nation’s inception, we have scribbled big ideas on a blackboard and then executed them. We founded a democracy and nursed it through a bloody civil war. We overcame the Great Depression, beat the Nazis and built the middle class. We passed civil rights legislation, paved interstates and survived a corrupt presidency. We’ve been to the moon and back.

But today, as we worry that other nations are lapping us, we’ve missed the one common thread that runs through all of those historic accomplishments: personal sacrifice.

We once understood that our greatness as a nation required a piece of us — hard work, commitment, civility and, yes, even our money. Today, many of us mistakenly believe our nation owes us.

But we’re still the people we once were, people of energy and ideas, initiative and creativity, and resolve. Washington gridlock does not — and should not — define us.

This anniversary, as heartbreaking as it is, offers our country another chance to step up. Those who died on 9/11 and after made the ultimate sacrifice. We have built memorials so we’ll never forget. But there’s another way to honor them: to one day say they propelled us to be a stronger nation.